Tax & Accounting Blog

In Budget 2012, presented to Parliament by United Kingdom Chancellor, George Osborne on March 21st, several changes to VAT registration thresholds were announced that will be effective from 1 April 2012. Those changes are as follows: the registration threshold will be increased from GBP 73,000 to GBP 77,000; the deregistration threshold will be increased from GBP … Read More

The Cyprus Ministry of Finance, in an apparent change of heart, has announced that the government plans to seek approval from the European Union to reduce VAT on domestic electricity use. The current rate is 17% and the government would like to reduce that to 8%. ‘This would reduce electricity bills for consumers by around 10 … Read More

The Indian Union Budget 2012-2013 was announced by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on March 16. Although no timeline was announced for introduction of GST (Goods and Services Tax), a number of proposals were released which are perceived to be preparation for the eventual launch of GST. Such proposals include, but are not limited to … Read More

Czech Minister of Finance Miroslav Kalousek has announced new draft tax measures the government plans to introduce as part of a 2012-2014 austerity package. Included is a proposal to replace the standard 20 percent VAT rate and the special 14 percent VAT rate with a flat rate of 17.5 percent, effective January 1, 2013. Source:Read More

Dutch Junior Finance Minister Frans Weekers is researching the effects of increasing the country’s reduced rate of value added tax from the current 6% to 8%. The reduced rate is applied to food, hairdressers, plasterers, newspapers and the floral industry. Minister Weekers proposed a similar increase last year which was met with strong protests. Source:Read More

If the proposed Kenya Value Added Tax (VAT) Bill 2012 becomes law the cost of living for Kenyans could increase significantly. Should the bill pass as proposed many essential goods such as milk, maize and wheat will be removed from the list of exempt goods and would be subject to the 16% rate. Other goods … Read More